Incident Report
White Shark Encounter During Swimming at Norah Head, NSW
norah head, New South Wales·Australia
A 10-year-old female swimmer sustained minor lacerations to the calf in a white shark encounter at Norah Head, New South Wales in July 1988. The incident resulted in non-fatal injuries.
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Incident Profile
Individual
Location
Description
In July 1988, a white shark incident occurred at Norah Head, a coastal locality in New South Wales, Australia. A 10-year-old female swimmer was injured when a white shark inflicted minor lacerations to her calf. The swimmer survived the encounter with non-fatal injuries. Norah Head is situated on the central coast of New South Wales and is a popular swimming and recreational area. This incident represents a relatively minor interaction in terms of injury severity, though white shark encounters remain significant events in shark incident documentation. The circumstances surrounding the initial contact and subsequent injury were consistent with a defensive or investigative response by the animal rather than a predatory attack.